Portal:Buses

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A New Routemaster double-decker bus, operating for Arriva London on London Buses route 73 (2015)

A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but less than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for charter purposes, or through private ownership. Although the average bus carries between 30 and 100 passengers, some buses have a capacity of up to 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with double-decker and articulated buses carrying larger loads, and midibuses and minibuses carrying smaller loads. Coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus, are free. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special large vehicle licence above and beyond a regular driving licence.

Buses may be used for scheduled bus transport, scheduled coach transport, school transport, private hire, or tourism; promotional buses may be used for political campaigns and others are privately operated for a wide range of purposes, including rock and pop band tour vehicles.

Horse-drawn buses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, and electric trolleybuses in 1882. The first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, and electric buses, as well as buses powered by compressed natural gas or biodiesel. As of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world. (Full article...)

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Q11, Q21, and Q52 buses on Woodhaven Blvd. The Q53 (with a Laguardia Link scheme) is at Woodside, getting ready to start its trip.

The Q11, Q21, Q52, and Q53 bus routes constitute a public transit corridor running along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards in Queens, New York City. The corridor extends primarily along the length of the two boulevards through "mainland" Queens, a distance of 6 miles (9.7 km) between Elmhurst and the Jamaica Bay shore in Howard Beach. The Q52 and Q53 buses, which provide Select Bus Service along the corridor, continue south across Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway peninsula, one of the few public transit options between the peninsula and the rest of the city.

The Q11 and Q21 were formerly privately operated by Green Bus Lines, and the Q53 was formerly operated by Triboro Coach, under subsidized franchises with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT). The Q11 and Q21 started service along the corridor in 1918 and 1923, respectively. These routes came under the control of Green Bus Lines in the 1930s when the borough's bus system was divided into four lettered "zones", with "Zone C" including Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and the Rockaways operated by Green Lines. An additional route along the corridor, the Q53, was added in 1950, to replace the Long Island Rail Road's Rockaway Beach Branch service to the Rockaways, which was shut down due to a trestle fire. This service was operated by Triboro Coach. (Full article...)
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A classic Malta bus

Buses were introduced to Malta in 1905. As well as providing public transport across the country, up until 2011, the traditional Malta bus (Maltese: xarabank or karozza tal-linja) served as a popular tourist attraction due to their unique appearances grounded in the bus ownership and operation model employed in the country; by the end of this traditional operation, Malta had several bus types no longer in service anywhere else in the world.

The unique nature of the Malta bus stemmed from the tradition of local ownership of the buses by the drivers, and their historic practice of customising them. In addition to a high degree of customisation, detailing and decoration, several Malta buses also had a unique appearance due to the practice of in-house maintenance, rebuilding or modifying of bus bodies in local workshops.

As an iconic feature of the country, the classic Malta bus features on several tourist-related items. As the main mode of public transport across the country, the Malta bus was also used by many tourists to visit the different parts of the country. While newer Malta buses were progressively introduced that followed modern standard bus designs found elsewhere, customisation and detailing had continued for these buses as well.

On 3 July 2011, the network of service bus routes across Malta was taken over by Arriva, with traditional buses reduced to operating on only special heritage services.

Arriva introduced a fleet of modern low-floor buses, importing secondhand ex-London articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaros, retaining and repainting some of the 'newest' buses from the old fleet in Arriva colours as well as purchasing a fleet of brand new King Long rigid buses. Arriva's operation in Malta was beset by problems; three fires within a 48-hour period in August 2013 prompted the Maltese government to ban the articulated Citaros from operation in the country pending an investigation.

Arriva operation in Malta continued until 1 January 2014, when the nation's bus network was nationalised as Malta Public Transport. On 8 January 2015, Malta Public Transport was reprivatised as it was sold to Autobuses Urbanos de León (an Alsa subsidiary), who retained the Malta Public Transport brand name. The company doubled the bus fleet, which now consists of more than 400 buses.

Malta Public Transport has invested extensively in modernizing its bus fleet making it safer, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable. The company invested in 200 new buses with the latest Euro VI diesel technology. The buses are cleaned and maintained regularly, and are equipped with air-conditioning systems for added comfort. All the new buses have two doors to facilitate boarding and alighting of passengers. (

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Did you know? – show different entries

  • ... that Twitter satirist Coldwar Steve creates most of his works on a phone while travelling to work by bus?
  • ... that Kalasipalyam in central Bangalore, India, known for its traffic congestion and unhygienic conditions, is also a transportation hub for 800,000 bus passengers a day?

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